


This Game is not for Everyone

by ReadingHell



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Multi, OCs - Freeform, Prinxiety - Freeform, Smut, logicality - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2018-11-04 11:15:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10989798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadingHell/pseuds/ReadingHell
Summary: After a successful video, Thomas and his personality traits decide to play a game, innocent at first but getting darker and darker. In a game of pride and secrets, who will win?This story has Prinxiety and Logicality on it, with small hints of other pairings. A trying-to-be comedy, with very few TW (none of them deeply dark stuff, mostly just sex scenes)Next Chapter: February - March





	1. The Beginning - Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if this sucks, I'm not a native English speaker? So if you have any corrections plese tell me. This is my first story, so it's more of a trial

It all started with a game. A game between each one of them, otherwise things wouldn't have happened. But let’s start from the beginning.

It all started at an after-video party. He had been feeling pretty weird after the debate he had with Logic some weeks ago, and now that things were getting too social, he was left behind in a corner, dealing with his own Anxiety.

He spent the beginning of the party between Tumblr and Instagram, his eyes completely used to the cellphone light under the darkness of the place. There were some lights on actually, but they were so dim they were barely enough for them to distinguish each other, and nothing more. Against anything he would have expected, everything looked more or less clean, maybe some empty cups or food here and there, but nothing they wouldn't be able to clean in less than an hour. Thomas's friends were gone by now, so the principal personality traits were the only ones left in the house, besides their Host, Thomas himself. He didn't pay much attention to were the others were, and since things started to get even more boring than usual, it wouldn't hurt him to take a peak.

At the distance he could see Logic and Morality chatting, the first sign of something being off. It wasn't because it was weird for them to talk with each other, in fact, it was something common, being as close friends as they were. Being the First ones, they spent enough years with only the other to construct a strong friendship. What called my attention, was the state of them. The usually emotionless personality, Logic, was resting on an Armchair with Morality, the buttons of his shirt open until midway, and the tie nowhere to be found. He looked silent and red, almost falling asleep in the other's shoulder. If that wasn't enough of a weird sight on it's own, seeing Morality was enough for him to notice that something was definitely weird. His cardigan wasn't there, he could see it lying on Logic's lap, nor was his shirt. His expression seemed dizzy and distant, like he was thinking about something important, a weird thing to see in someone who's always happy all the time. It's not like he preferred him all happy all the time, of course not, but it was weird. An idea crossed through his head, and grabbing a tossed up cup, he smelled the inside. Yup, that smelt like booze.

He stood up and looked around, wondering if there was something left. He didn't want to drink too....much. But as far as he could see, they’ve drank it all. Letting out a sight, he cleaned his trousers and prepared himself to go to bed; being them all drunk, Anxiety wasn't something they would have, nor were they able to hold a proper conversation with him, so he decided to take a leave. He looked for Thomas around the place, since he was the only one besides Prince that wasn't in the place, but he will look for the other later.

After some minutes looking, he knocked the door of his dorm, hearing a quiet conversation inside. After a minute or two, the door opened and showed a smiling Thomas inside. Peeking over his shoulder he saw a cellphone, the screen still on. _"So he actually was talking with someone"_.

\- Hey Anxiety! Enjoying the party? - He raised an eyebrow, why would he care if he was? He only sat in a corner for most of the night, it was pretty obvious how much he was “enjoying” it, but he chose to try to play it cool for now.

\- It has been nice. Why are you here? The place ended up quite silent, and Logic and Morality are quite drunk by now. Besides, Princey is missing. Do you w- - Before he was able to keep talking, a loud noise came from the living room, followed by the chatting of the rest of the party. They both looked at each other and went towards the origin of the sound, Thomas practically rushing to the place, but he was quite reluctant about dealing with whatever mess they were doing, so he let the other go ahead. When he finally arrived, the conversation had risen it's volume, a quick cheerful chat between them.

\- There you are Anxiety! We were waiting for you - Well, that was weird. Prince was finally in the room, his smile as bright as ever, making him sick. His clothes and hair were quite messy, and with only that he could see that he was drunk too. He wouldn't have left anyone see him in this state. The rest were already sitting in the ground in a round, still chatting. Morality was still in the same state that before, resting his head in his hand and partially falling asleep, but still listening to the conversation between the other two. Logan was talking with Thomas, both cheerful about something he couldn't hear quite right, nor he cared for now, but he couldn't help but notice the two cups in their hands, behind them two bottles of Vodka and some juice. Even more drinks...?

\- Sit with us! We were about to play a game - Prince spoke again, sitting besides Morality, leaving an empty space between Thomas and him.

\- A game?

\- Yeah, things were getting a bit boring, so I thought this might make the night more interesting.

He sat without thinking much about it, Thomas handing him a cup after a while. He looked at him and then at the cup, grabbing it a bit cautious. It wasn't because he thought they put something on it, but because one things was to drink on his own, when no one was watching, and another to do so surrounded by them, his shyness kicking in. But let's be honest, he wouldn't mind a couple of sips right now, he kind of needed it, so he put his annoyed facade and let his nervousness hide behing it.

Prince waited until everyone stopped talking, a not-so-innocent smile appearing in his face, making him wonder if it was possible for him not to play the game. If he had a chance to escape before tho, it was now gone, as the creative trait searched in his pocket and after a while, took out his own cellphone and unlocked it, showing the screen to everyone.

_\- Let's play "Never Have I Ever", shall we?_


	2. The Beginning - Part 2

\- Some of the questions of the page I found are impossible to answer, since well, we're just traits - Prince started searching through his phone, sometimes stopping to read something before keep looking - But I think we can make a fair game with a few, I guess. I have another game for later.

\- Wait, for how long are we going to be playing?

\- Well, for the rest of the night of course! - Some groans were heard from the rest, the whole night was surely too much time - Oh come on, I'm pretty sure we are going to enjoy it. Now let's start!

\- Wait a second Prince, how are we supposed to know if someone is lying or not? - Logic yawned, looking more sober.

\- That's pretty easy, if any of us lie Thomas will be the first one to notice! He's our Host after all, and in case he lies about what he did, we will know, for obvious reasons - Anxiety looked surprised to him, since when was normal for Princey to know this kind of stuff? He cleared his throat and looked at the questions - I'll start here! The first one is...

_"Never have I ever finished a Jawbreaker"_

He stopped holding his breath, smirking. Thanks god they were starting with the easy ones, the others kind of made him embarrassed and nervous, and he didn't want to find out about what were the others doing when in private. He saw Morality drink his whole cup at once, letting out a long sigh after it.

\- I was too curious, and they are so delicious! I wanted to know what would happen - He smiled cheerfully like he always did, quite a difference to just a moments ago. He grabbed Princey's phone and started looking at the questions.

_"Never have I ever pulled an all-nighter"_

He winced at the question, looking at his cup. He knew this was coming, tho he didn't expect it to be the second question already. He took a deep breath and before thinking it twice drank the whole cup at once, feeling the burning feeling of the alcohol in his throat and the sweetness of the juice in his tongue. He coughed a bit, feeling all warm up suddenly, and looked around to see that the only one that didn't drank was Princey. He raised an eyebrow to him, and the other simply shrugged.

\- I can't, I need my beauty sleep.

He rolled my eyes and rested his head on his hand, waiting for the next question. This was going to be a long game

\- - - - - - - - - - - -  
Two hours have passed since the game begun. Since then, it looked like his luck was the worse in the planet; it was the sixth time he had to drink his whole cup. He finished it and rested his body on the floor, his head spinning too much for him to sit straight. With each drink, he spoke less and less, even while getting drunk he felt like if he opened his mouth too much, he won't be able to measure what he should say or not. As he expected, question started to spice up, which made things easier to him as he hadn't done any of them. He got his cup filled with water and started drinking to get a bit sober, when it was Thomas's turn.

\- Just to make sure guys, since I always wondered - He laughed a bit, trying to get himself understood over the alcohol.

_"Never have I ever had a crush on one of my personalities"_

Anxiety looked at him with his eyes open, wondering where did the question came from. For a second he thought about taking a s-no, he wasn't going to finish that line of thinking. Nothing happened, nothing was happening, and he was fine and normal, so there were no reasons. He felt Thomas looking at him and winking, pretty sure he knew what was in his mind. "Fucker". He looked back at the group and spoke.

\- Well, since nothing happened, I guess we can - before finishing, we all turned to look at the sound of someone drinking, just in time to see Morality lower the cup. Nobody said anything, waiting for him to speak up, maybe answer the question that was in their mind, but he simply ignored us.

\- So now it's my turn! - He grabbed Prince's phone and looked at the questions.

_"Never have I ever kissed someone"_

He felt his cheeks turn red, looking at everyone in the place. No one said anything, nor did anything. Then Thomas drank his cup, relaxed. Of course, it wasn't something weird for them, they all knew he did. He lowered his cup and then looked at Princey, who was avoiding his gaze the best he could. When he noticed it wasn't going to get him anywhere, he took his cup and quickly drank it all, acting as nothing was happening. He put his cup on the floor and then stared right into his eyes, and it was at that moment he noticed they were all staring at he, or so he felt like that. He looked down at my cup, feeling the needles of the gazes digging into his neck, trying to calm himself down, breathing in and out over and over again. Once he opened his eyes again, he noticed they weren't staring at him at all, the situation just made him imagine things, so while trying to keep the best straight face he could, he drank the whole cup, setting it into the floor again. Looking besides him, Logic also drank too, so the only one who didn't do it was Morality, thing that made the parent look quite amused.

\- Wait, we're just four, who did you kiss? - Dad looked at them, truly curious - Unless you kissed one of the k-

\- Oh you better leave that train of thoughts there.

\- Okaaay.

\- So well - Princey stood up slowly, almost failing at the attempt, but still trying to look as prideful as ever - I think we should end it here, unless anyone has something to say...? - He looked at each of them, focusing more in Anxiety, making him nervous. - Okay! I think that's it.

_**"Wait wait!!!, I have something!!!"** _

They looked at each other, the only one alarmed being Thomas, after all, they all knew very well who was talking.

\- Pranks? What are you doing? - Morality stood up, his parenting senses ringing - It's almost 4 AM, you better be going to bed right now.

_**"Come here!! We have something for you"** _

\- Missy? Wait just a moment - He quickly slipped back into the mindscape, leaving the place in silence. The tension was palpable, the questions still lingering between us, but they knew that the first person who spoke, will have to answer too, so they just kept staring at each other, waiting for someone to speak.

\- So... - Thomas was the first one, clearing his throat - Who are Pranks and Missy?

\- They are subtraits - Logic decided to take the chance and answer him, he was the one who drank the least during the game so it was easier for him - They represent small parts of your persona, and as they lack the energy necessary to move from the mindscape to the physical world, they can only communicate through a small speaker we left in case of emergency. Pranks represents your video pranks, specially your vines, while Missy represent your Misleading Compliment videos.

\- Woah, I didn't know that. How many people are in my brain?

\- Mindscape Thomas, not brain, and we can not say for sure; is very common for some traits to simply remain in the shadows, while very few appear and live with us too.

\- And what is a mindscape?

\- Well, a mindscape is-

\- Just pretend is like in Inside Out - Anxiety cuts them off, annoyed by the talk already - Sorry Logic, but your voice was being particularly annoying, so please, just shut the fuck up.

\- Anxiety watch your language - Thomas sighed, already used to the dark personality outburst. He turned and smiled at Logic again - It sounds so amazing! Can you take pictures while you're there, so I can see them later?

\- Of course Thomas! It'll be a pleasure to show you the best rooms in the place, such as mine - Prince smiled at him, not missing the chance to show himself. Just before he was able to keep with it, Morality came back, a box in his hands.

\- I was able to put the kids on bed, tho we truly have a mess to clean back there. Looks like they wanted a sleepover as well - He chuckled, then placed the box in the middle of the circle - The kids found out this box in the imagination room! They told me that is a "Truth or Dare" kind of game, so why don't we give it a try?  
  
\- I want to start - Anxiety was as suprised as the rest, the words suddenly coming out of his mouth. The place was silent for a few seconds, the rest of the crew was a bit scared of what was going to happen, after all, the darker trait wasn't well known because of his kindness and light jokes. He wasn't Pranks's best friend for nothing.

\- So...Princey? Truth or Dare? - He smirked at him, the colour in Prince's face just vanishing. He knew that Truth wasn't an option there, because the question will rely on the kiss, so he only had once choice.

\- Dare

\- I dare you... - The dark personality started spinning the box between his hands, thinking. Then he remembered a comment he made earlier, and smiled devilish - ...to sleep in the common room for a week. - He couldn't help but smirk at the Royal's horrified face; a little revenge for having to endure this stupid game for so long.

The rest of the people looked shocked, all staring into Prince, waiting for an answer.

\- How do you think I'll do that? It'll ruin my beauty dream! The place doesn't even have a proper surface to sleep on.

\- Scared, Princey? - He knew that if he teased him enough, the other was going to fall - You talk so much about how brave you are, it looks like it was just an act.

\- Excuse me? I am a Prince! Bravery runs through my veins, it's part of my royal blood, different from you emo nightmare.

\- Then prove it. Let's see how much of a coward you are, no wonder you still don't have any princess or prince at your feet.

\- That's it - He looked furious, about to snap at the other at any moment - I'll do it. I'll sleep in the common room for a week, and shut your damn mouth for once.

**"Challenge accepted"**

They all looked down at the box, which was glowing with a red light. It shined a bit more, and then turned completely back to normal. They didn't know exactly what it meant, but they will find later. For now, it was better to go back to bed.

Prince and Anxiety glared one last time to each other, the first one looking furious but determined to win, while the other was smirking with victory all over his face, knowing that he made the other fall. All the personalities agreed on helping to clean the place tomorrow morning (or noon, since it was "tomorrow morning" already) and disappeared into their own rooms, leaving and exhausted Thomas alone there, who stood up and went to bed like the others.

What he missed to notice, while brushing his teeth, was a small black square by the side of his neck, with a 0 on it.


	3. Pranks and Isolation

Morning came by pretty quickly. Anxiety was in his room enjoying the silence, staring at the ceiling in his room. Some years ago he had managed to paint fairly well a starry night, using different kinds of purple, blue and pink, the white stars made of glowing-in-the-dark paint. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, about to fall asleep, when someone knocked on the door. He groaned, but quickly stood and walked to the source of the nise, ready to yell at whoever was on the other side.

\- Good morning Anx! - Pranks was smiling devilish, behind him Missy was partially hidden behind him, a shy smile in his face.

\- Hmm, morning - Fuck. He couldn't get angry at them, they were just kids. - What are you doing here?

His smile got even wider, showing a small camera in his hands - Prince is sleeping in his throne, at the common room. Why don't we get a chance and take some pics?~

It didn't took him long to grab his hoddie and walk outside, cellphone in hand. He was still wearing his pijamas under it, and his face wasn't covered by his makeup, but if he was quickly enough maybe no one will see him.

They rushed to the place, both kids giggling like crazy, but he tried to shush them not to wake up anyone. Once at the room, he slowly walked to where the throne was, making sure not to make any noise. Prince was curled up, using a cushion from one of the sofas to make the rigid material more comfortable, a light blue blanket over him. His mouth was slightly open, and his hair was all messed up, even more than last night. 'Cute', he thought, quickly taking a picture.

\- Why don't we paint something? - Pranks took out a washable black market, while Missy took out some brillantine, red, gold and white. - Don't worry, it'll wash out. Probably.

\- So early in the morning and you've already come with all this ideas -He grabbed his phone with his right hand to film, while with his left he drew a mustache - Did something happen?

\- We're playing a game too! - He takes out a small ball, with a small speaker attached to it - We have to play 7 pranks in one day, and we already did three!

\- Three? - he finished drawing a monocle and linking his eyebrows together, when suddenly he heard a scream coming from one of the dorms. He left the sleepy prince there, hiding the market in his back pocket, and turned around to both kids, who were smearing the brillantine all over his face - Finish quickly and hide everything, I'll try to distract him meanwhile.

He rushed to the hallway and found Logic's door open, a pink cloud coming out of there. As soon as he entered the room, he heard the faucet in the bathroom open, so he went towards the source of the sound. Inside, the owner of the room was washing his hair with fury, like trying to rip ut off. Once he noticed a presence in the door, he looked up, now his hair was all spiky and messy, his face filled with horror.

His hair. Was fucking **pink**

 **Fucking _Shapay Evan's_ pink**.

He could contain the laugh that came to him, needing to hold the doorframe not to fall. Logic waited there, angry, about to snap but waiting for the other to calm down, so when Anxiety started breathing normally, washing the tears from his eyes, he took the chance.

\- Are you done mocking me? If you wanted to have fun I'd suggest to watch a movie or so. I don't find it entertaining nor enjoying, so unless you have a way of helping me in this predicament, I'll excuse myself. I have to make sure this incident is solved as quickly as possible - Before he was able to leave the bathroom, however, the darker trait stopped him - Anything to say?

\- Well... - Think, think, there must be some way of distracting him to buy them some time - Eh, why don't you tell me how did you get your hair like that? Maybe that way, I'll know how to fix it.

\- Very well, then let me explain it to you - The professor walked out of the small room, showing where the spray appeared, how it didn't paint anything else, and more stuff that the other didn't listen to. He was getting tired, and listening to the elder was really boring so early in the morning, so he simply nodded at everything, hopping that the other didn't notice his lack of interest. He started looking around, examining the room; it has been a long time since the last time he went inside.

The walls were a calming blue, a big bookshelf besides his computer, with lots of papers scrambled in front of it. His bed was pretty simple, a dark colour of green, with a small night table with a lamp besides. In the night table, a book was open just in the middle, "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie. He picked a framed picture sitting besides the lamp, a very old one if he had to say it. In the pic, both Morality and Logic were holding each other by the waist, smiling to the camera. Back then, Logic wasn't Logic. He was Teacher, who was able to handle feelings, and even made jokes from time to time. Morality gets nostalgic time by time, and tells us bits of it, the rest of the stuff we know is from the vines Thomas did. All we know is that suddenly, after some years, he changed into Logic, tho the reason and the way he did so was unknown to Prince and him, since it was before they were even made. 

\- So, do you got any ideas in mind?

\- Huh? - He had drifted off so much, he didn't notice the other had stop talking, waiting for an answer. He put the photo back to it's place, thinking of a believable answer.

\- Well... - Taking a final look to the whole place, and idea formed in his mind - The spray didn't get into the bed or other surface...so, maybe it's not an actual spray? It might have come from the subconscious. - I heard the other groan; if it came from the subconscious, it'd be very hard to find a way to revert the changes. He hoped Pranks and Missy had something in mind to take off the spray.

\- Well, I think I will have to wait until I am able to find a solution. After lunch I will be looking in the library, I might find the answer inside the subconscious section. - he saw both Pranks and Missy running to their rooms through the corner of the eye, the green light he needed to finally go and have breakfast. Logic probably had the same idea.- Since we're awake, would you like to have breakfast? - Bingo.

\- I'll go in a few minutes - Once the other exited the room, he felt like he was finally able to breath properly, passing his hands through his hair. Interacting with people so early in the morning was exhausting, he needed some time to chill unless he wanted to have an anxiety attack before lunch.

He went to the bathroom, remembering then that he didn't have makeup on. Did he notice? Did he saw how ugly he was without it? Did he just plain ignore it? He tried to wash away the thoughts by dipping his head under the faucet, opening the cold water to let the ideas get washed away with it. He had to calm down. He couldn't let himself get noticed by the rest, even less since he wasn't well received by them, if you get what I mean. He would only get himself even more hated, and that wasn't the solution at all.

Quickly he turned off the faucet and dried his head, then rushed to his room and applied a good amount of black eyeshadow and white foundation. Now he finally felt like himself. He changed his clothes, putting on his signature hoddie again and grabbing his headphones, just in case he needed a break from the world. After so many years working as Thomas's Anxiety, he knew very well how to avoid an attack, and by doing so avoiding Thomas's.

He went back to the common room, walking to the kitchen, finding Morality doing some pancakes. In a plate besides him, a pile of chocolate chips cookies were waiting to be served, still warm and soft from the oven. He calmed his breath, getting ready for another social interaction, and walked towards him.

\- Can I grab some? - He quickly moved to the fridge, avoiding Morality just in case he looked at him, and served himself a glass of milk. After some minutes of waiting for a response, he glanced at him and found that he hadn't heard him, as he was humming some song, completely concentrated in flipping the pancakes. With only one question he spent enough energy, so he simply waited until the other wasn't looking and grabbed five, putting them into his pocket. Then he proceeded to walk back to his room, where he would be able to eat calmly. He knew Logic was waiting for him to appear, but he was too overwhelmed for that, even tho his mind will pester him later for not going. Sliding into his chair and turning on his computer, he took out the cookies and started eating them slowly, putting on some random music from his phone's playlist.

He spent most of the day repeating the same routine, going out just to grab something to eat. He was able to film the rest of the pranks the other kids did, the only one who survive the wave of pranks was him, and only because both kids knew what would happen if they broke the golden rule. He smirked to himself, passing the previews of the videos on his phone; they will be a good addition for the collection. He looked at the clock, noticing it was barely half past midnight. It was a good moment to grab snacks for the rest of the night.

He slid silently out of his room, noticing all lights were out, probably they were getting ready to sleep already. He walked to the kitchen and looked in one of the shelves, finding what he was looking for: The rest of the cookies from this morning. He knew Morality ate them as a reward from time to time, lucky enough he never noticed that the cookies disappeared too quickly to be only him. Grabbing a good two thirds of the jar, he left it just where he found it, and when he was about to go back to his room, he felt two arms around his waist, then a cheek resting on his shoulder, warm breath against his neck.

_\- Finally, I found you alone Anxiety._


	4. Matters of the Heart (also Vengeance)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case, Anxiety is the personality, and anxiety is, well, the thingie, not the person. You get me (I hope)

Or at least that's what he thought Prince said, the royal was too sleepy, and his words were barely a bunch of mumbling. He thanked god and every deity helping him right now, because under his makeup his face was bright red, the other too close to his body to feel comfortable at all. He breathed slowly, trying to act as normal as possible, and quickly grabbed his arms and untangle them from his body, forcing him to stand up.

\- Get your stinky breath away from me, thank you - He fixed his clothes and cleared his throat, still feeling the ghost of Prince's breath in his neck. - What do you want?

\- I need to ask you something - a bit more awake than before, he grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him towards the common room, making the dark personality to sit in his place.

He went to look for something, in which Anxiety took the chance to wonder what the fuck was happening. He passed his hand through his neck, trying to get the sensation away from him. He still felt quite bothered because of the memory of his proximity, not sure if it was a good or a bad thing. It has been more or less two weeks since the incident, and nobody has said a word about it since then, trying to keep it a secret. It was easier that way at least, yet what happened happened, and he still felt extremely nervous whenever he was close to the royal personality, tho the other didn't seem to be affected at all.

Prince came back after a while, and he immediately recognized the black box from yesterday, resting between his hands.

\- Princey, the game finished last night, we're not playing anymore.

\- Oh come on Anxiety! - He sat on his throne, crossing his legs over a red pillow - Did you think I'd leave it with only one challenge? Besides, it would make things entertaining here; think of it as a little adventure!

\- No

\- Oh please!~ It's only fair, you started it, it's only fair for me to have a little revenge!

\- Life is not fair, deal with it -Anxiety stood up and tried to walk out of the room, but again Prince stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

\- Please. It'll only be this one - He looked at him with puppy eyes, pouting slightly. He didn't like to admit it, but he looked quite...cute.

\- What are you doing?

\- I'm putting the best puppy face I have, to try to convince you.

\- Do you really think that would work on me? - He smirked, seeing as the other got put off by his obvious answer.

\- I don't know...Truth or Dare...? - The darker personality wondered how did he end up in this situation, but right now there was no point in wondering. 

\- Truth - The other reacted slowly to it, still not believing it  _actually_ worked.

\- ...uh?

\- What? I don't feel like moving much, it's the easiest way to stay in place.

\- Hmm, okay... - Prince Charming sat back, thinking thoughtfully about what to ask. Anxiety took out his phone and started looking at his social media, unable to focus completely; he started to feel like it hadn't been a good idea. After some minutes of scrolling and eagerness building more and more, Prince finally had something worthy to ask.

\- Remember when the fans asked you who of the personalities would you kiss? - Anxiety stooped breathing for a second, regretting his decision completely now - with what happened before, I've been wondering.

_"You didn't answer because you'd kiss me right? Do you have feelings for me?"_

He turned brightly red under his foundation, being reflected in his ears. He tried saying no, but for some reason he couldn't lie about it, his own mind didn't let him. But he truly, didn't have feelings for him, or as far as he knew he didn't. Even knowing that, he couldn't bring himself to say no, but he couldn't say yes either, so he just sit there, staring at the royal personality like a deer in the middle of the road.

\- .....so? - The other simply shrugged, trying to communicate the best as possible; the knock in his throat didn't let him speak - Is that a yes or a no? - He just shrugged again, looking away, embarrassed of the situation - What, yo don't know? But, that's not even an answer, come on! - he knew he wasn't getting anything out of it, so he groaned in annoyance - That's cheating, you can't just say you don't know. If you're not going to answer, then I'll just change it to dare - Anxiety rolled his eyes, but it was better than being unable to answer. Prince started thinking again, and it didn't take him long to come with something

_"I dare you to be a week without using your makeup"_

\- A week...? - He felt the knock in his throat fade away, his voice coming a bit hoarse at first. Was it because of his own anxiety...? - Isn't that too much?

\- Isn't too much a week sleeping in the common room?

\- Touché - He stood up, ready to go back to his room. He barely paid attention to the **"Challenge Accepted"** that resonated through the room - If that's all, then I'll go now. See ya. - Before the other was able to stop him, he rushed back to his room.

Walking through the corridor, he thought about what just happened. One of the worst feelings in the world, one he was sadly used to, was the feeling of your throat closing quickly because of socialising. It happened so quickly, and it was so easy to provoque it, but when it did he knew the cause of it. He was Anxiety, he knew what caused _everyone's_ anxiety. But when he tried to answer Prince, his throat closed immediately out of nowhere, and he couldn't help but wonder why. He didn't feel anything for the royal...right? He was obnoxious and annoying, and his ego was too big to be normal. Yeah, he might be cute and he might have tried to understand him better lately, but that didn't mean anything, right? Yeah, yeah it didn't mean anything.

\- Anxiety? - He was about to open the door to his room, but he was interrupted again by Morality, standing right behind him. He turned, trying not to look annoyed; he remembered pretty well that after last video, he has been feeling quite sensible - Can we talk a little bit?

\- I'm tired, Morality - I turned and rested my head against the wall, emphasizing it - Can't we talk tomorrow?

\- This is serious, Virgil - he felt himself waking up suddenly; the other used his name in very few situations - I need your help. Please.

He sighed, walking to Morality's room, trying to hide that now he was starting to worry. Not only the discussion during the video happened, but also the incident a week ago, it was probably too much for him, and he has been too inside his feelings to notice. The parent close the door and sat in his bed, breathing slowly. Silence filed the room while the other gained strenght to speak. making the dark trait nervous. He only hoped it wasn't something really bad, otherwise he'd truly have to control himself about how to answer to that kind of situation, and it wasn't something he knew how to do well. After a few minutes, he finally looked up, straight into his eyes, just long enough to say what was in his mind.

\- _I have feelings for Logan_ \- his cheeks turned red as the younger looked at him surprised, not knowing what to say. The paternal trait looked back down at the floor, completely embarrassed, his hands in fists and his body completely tensed up. He didn't know how to react, if he should get closer and hug him - eh. better not -, if he should say something, but it was harder than that. He knew from that moment, that things will go wrong. Logic didn't know anything about feelings. He made clear last night that he didn't have feelings for anyone, and even tho he might have lied, the fact that he didn't get on well with Morality was...something the other wasn't handling well at all. So he couldn't tell him any of this. It would break his heart.

He walked closed and slowly patted his back, trying to calm him down. He would start a hug, if it wasn't because he wasn't very fond of physical contact, and it might make him uncomfortable. He felt arms around his body and his left shoulder getting soaked in tears, and before he knew it they were both hugging each other tightly, the cheerful personality breaking down in front of him.

\- Calm down Pat... - he rested his head on his shoulder, corresponding the hug the best he could, not wanting to bother the other with his stiffness - It's gonna be okay.

\- No i-it's not - He washed his tears with his grey cardigan, breaking the embrace a bit - He hates me, he thinks I'm, not necessary...

\- That's, well, but you know that deep down he cares about you.

\- Does he? - He finally breaks the hug, trying to calm himself down; he seemed truly frustrated - I-I thought he did, but he said so last video, he actually find me, annoying with my jokes and my humor. He thinks I should just, choose what's right and wrong - He finally calmed his breathing, no more tears shade, tho his voice still sounded broken - Maybe I should do that, maybe that way I won't bother him...

\- Wowowow wait, stop - He wasn't made to comfort the other, quite the contrary in fact. His whole mind was screaming for him to aggravate the situation, to tell him that he was right, everything was screwed up. But he couldn't break the other's heart, so he used the last bit of strength he had in his body to calm him down - Listen here Pat, you have to understand that Logic is difficult to understand, he doesn't know how to understand, nor express feelings. Every time he hurt you he ended up feeling guilty at the end, am I right? That must mean something. As he says - He smirked slightly, his best attempt to smile - you shouldn't jump to a conclusion.

Morality just stood there, looking down, thinking. He thought the other literally fell asleep in front of him, standing with his eyes open, but he was quickly startled by him speaking again.

\- Thanks Verge...sorry to bother you with all this. I know you're still getting used to being nice! But at least we're all getting better - He smiled brightly again, like the Morality we all knew.

\- Yeah, I guess... - He still felt nervous and slightly anxious most of the time, bit still was better than before. Mostly. - So well, I'll go to sleep.

\- Goodnight kiddo! - Anxiety left the room, finally being able to arrive to his room and rest in his bed, feeling all the exhaustion of today weighting his body.

He hugged his cat plush, his eyes already closing, and with a last glance at the galaxy above him, he got into a deep and well deserved sleep.


	5. Confrontation

Morning came quickly, the artificial sun inside of Thomas's mind shining through the window, forcing him to wake up. He has been sleeping more this week, and he wasn't completely used to it yet. The sleeping pattern wasn't perfect, he was usually a light sleeper, and ever the smallest things woke him up. He stretched his arms, feeling his dark tank top lift up slightly, and stood there, looking out of the window. With a quick snap of his fingers, the scene turned in front of him, a deep forest in front of him, the sunlight being completely covered by the top of the trees. If he had been like Princey or Morality, he would have been able to go outside and spend the rest of the morning in the loneliness of the nature, maybe listening to music, maybe just staring at the scene in front of him. Sadly, he was more of Logic's side, so he wasn't able to change his room at will. But that gave him more control over the conscious part of the brain, which was kind of fun; except of the fact rhat, you know, it wasn't healthy to leave a beast of dark thoughts roam through your mind.

He stood up and entered his bathroom, preparing a change of clothes for when he finished. He decided to go with his typical jacket-and-shirt style, but using a pair of skinny jeans instead, hoping to ease a bit the warm weather (Florida could so easily turn into a hell). He finished preparing himself, messing up his hair in front of the mirror, and when he was about to apply his diary doze of foundation, he remembered.

_The bet._

He groaned with exasperation, hitting his head to the mirror, trying not to break it. How was he supposed to go by his everyday, during a week, without wearing at least a bit of makeup? He looked closely at his face, something he hadn't done in a long time. He didn't have any zit, nor his skin was dry, he made sure to take care of it with creams and hot baths since with all the makeup he used, it would end up quite damaged, so it accidentally ended up being softer and cleaner than his host. Still, it was paler than normal, his freckles even more noticeable, the dark circles under his eyes making a weird mixture of things in what was supposed to be a normal face. This is why he covered his face; he was getting too self-conscious. He'll have to avoid as much personal encounters as possible if he wanted to survive.

He walked out with his hoddie covering as much as possible and his body hunched, looking more like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings than Anxiety. He grabbed the box of cereals and went to the common room, sitting in his chair to watch whatever Thomas was doing at the mor-well, afternoon I guess, it's already 1 PM. Who cares, cereals are cereals.

His host was already up, strangely, and was quite concentrated on his laptop, doing some kind of research. He was alone, the rest of the traits were sleeping (he could hear Princey snoring from his throne), and he didn't would seem to be socialising with anyone right now. Would it be a good idea to pop up for a while? The answer was _yes._

He sank out of the mindscape into Thomas's room right behind him, and crept to him slowly, the owner of the room too concentrated in his search that he didn't even notice the coming of one of his traits. When he was almost touching his back, he bended down and using one of his favourite voices, he imitated the low growl of the Demogorgon, the creature he has been tormenting Thomas with since a kid. As expected, he screamed and jumped out of bed, his eyes trying to find the beast but only seeing a breathless Anxiety, bended down in the floor, trying to contain his laugh as much as possible.

\- Ugh, morning Anxiety - He rubbed his eyes, trying to push away his tiredness - I guess I have to thank you for not coming earlier.

\- You're not welcome - The personality trait walked to the still on laptop, picking it up to look at the screen - What were you searching so ea- **What. The. Fuck**.

\- Language! - He felt the computer being ripped out off his hands, a flustered Thomas trying to hide something that he already saw.

\- You should have told me that you were watching po-

\- Don't! Don't say it! It's a research, I swear.

\- Yeah, sure - Copying the other actiond, he ripped off the laptop from the other and looked at the different videos in the selected tab, while avoiding the even redder host to take it away from him again - A research in _how to fuck someone_.

\- O-Oh come on, don't put it like that!

\- You should know better that all this pages are just a bunch of crap. - He closed it and gave back to Thomas, who rushed to it and turned it off, just in case. - Why would you need that? You are single, you can't approach people, and you can't just google up the answer, you know that right?

\- I-I actually have someone...

The silence filled the room, one of them was furiously blushing, playing with his nails, while the other had his mouth open in wide horror, trying to process the information.

\- Who?

\- I'm pretty sure you can figure that out by yourself.

\- I'm afraid I'll need your help.

\- I won't say it, you'll have to find out yourself.

\- Oh come on, I'm literally inside your mind, I'll find out sooner or later.

\- Nope, I won't say it.

\- Fine, so be it - He sat on his bed, taking out his cellphone - When will this happen?

\- Next Thursday. I still have time to make sure everything goes as planned - He clearly looked nervous, which was kind of cute, but he wasn't going to miss the chance.

\- Plan for what? If you think about it too much, you'll screw up - He smirked, noticing how the other tensed up even more - Are you sure he wants to have sex with you? You're probably imagining things, and once you show your intentions, you'll get laughed at. You'll look pathetic. Desperate.

\- Can you calm down for a while? At least until next Tuesday?

\- Sorry Thomas, job is job - Silence filled the air for a few seconds, only broken by the tap in the keyboard, his host still looking for information. Anxiety sighed. This morning he was breaking too many rules. He couldn't just let things like that. - But, you shouldn't think about it too much. Let things flow.

To say that the other was surprised was not enough. He didn't wait too long before using his hands to check their temperatures.

\- Can personalities get sick?

\- Keep making fun of me and I'll make sure you don't sleep for a month.

\- Okay, sorry - He quickly removed his hand and kept on his work - I'll keep on this for now, will you hang out with me or will you go back?

\- I still have to have breakfast, and so do you. Mo will pester us for hours if you don't, so eat something. See ya - He sinked out, appearing in the common room. He dusted his clothes off, noticing that Prince wasn't sleeping there anymore.

\- We were waiting for you kiddo - Well this morning really was full of surprises. It wasn't the words that scared him, but the way Morality said them to him, using his dad voice. He walked into the kitchen and found the other three main personalities looking at him, quite angry to be honest. The two minor traits were looking ashamed to the floor, what happened while he was gone?

\- Anxiety, did you do this to my perfect face? - Oh. The drawings. He just remembered about them. He looked up and saw Prince with the drawings still on place, the black market slightly gone, his face completely red. He looked furious.

\- Look kiddo, we just want to solve this as quickly as possible - Morality was using his dad voice again, trying to control the situation - First Logic's hair turned pink.

\- I can only hope that Thomas's idea of dying his hair pink didn't come from this incident - His hair was slowly losing his pink colour, but it'll take a long time.

\- And then when Prince came to have break fast, he had his whole face painted with permanent market.

\- Permanent? - Anxiety looked at the two kids in front of him, frowning slightly. They didn't seem to know about that, for the surprised look in their faces. It's no wonder the creative side was so pissed off. - But wait, you didn't notice it yesterday?

\- You're telling me, I've been with this in my face the whole day!? - He approached the dark trait slowly, his fists closed in anger. He wanted to back down, but at the same time he wasn't up to show his fear, so he simply smirked, making like the situation was funny to him, which wasn't at all.

\- Oh what's the matter Princey? - He walked closer to the now furious trait, while digging his nails in the palm of his hands. He had to play his cards carefuly, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get out of this one alive. - It must have been hard for you not to look at your face for a whole day, I'm proud of you! One more step into beating your narcissism.

\- Oh I wonder whose fault is that - His chests were almost touching, but the other tried to look superior, raising his own like a peacock showing himself - If I had known before, I would have dared you to do something a bit more challenging than wiping that evil makeup from your face - His smile turned in a smirk, shinning in cockyness - No wonder you wear it; for someone who has the same face as Royalty, you surely are the ugliest of the four.

Well, that actually hurt a little bit, but he simply raised an eyebrow, looking amused - Aww, I didn't meet the little Disney baby expectation? I'm so sorry your highness, maybe I should fix this mess to delight your eyes. But I should beware you, that attitude is not the best way of flirting with someone; no wonder you're still alone. - He bit his inner cheek with seeing the other's expression. Maybe that was a bit too rough.

\- _And then you wonder why Thomas wants to get ride of you._

Silence filled the room, as everyone looked shocked at the fanciful side. His face twisted from fury to regret in a split second, but it was too late. Anxiety closed his eyes, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes. _He went too far._ No way he was going to show weakness if front of him. Not now. Please. He needed to get to his room as fast as possible, without breaking down in the middle, but his brain was a race of thoughts and memories making cracks in his faquade.

\- Anx I'm so so-

\- Yeah Prince, you better be - He pushed past the traits and practically run to his room, locking the door behind him. He slid down and sat there, head between his knees, breathing slowly to hold on the tears and not let his emotions get the worst out of him.

He didn't come out for the rest of the day.


	6. Shit gets solved (Kinda)

He laid on the floor, looking at the constellation above him, breathing slowly to calm down his mind. In his right hand, a case with makeup, in his left, his cellphone. He closed his eyes again, his eyelids heavy under the strong headache.

_"Where's your make up?"_  
_"It's for a bet, no make up for a week. You didn't notice it yesterday?"_

He stood up quickly, regretting it almost instantly. His head, the pain pounded so hard he had to stop for a few seconds, holding himself with the desk besides his bed.

_"Oh I didn't! You look nice without it, actually."_  
_"We have the same face."_  
_"Well, yeah, I guess, but you get me."_

Once he calmed down, he walked to the bathroom, stumbling on his steps but still being able to get to the door.

_"We need him with makeup for the video tho, can't you make an exception for today?"_  
_"Oh Thomas, you know very well that edgelord is too stubborn to let me win."_  
_"Better to be stubborn than prideful."_

He was in front of the mirror. He opened the case, the eyeshadow, he took the brush. If he was careful, he'll be able to apply enough to cover his actual eyebags.

_"Kids don't fight..."_  
_"I think Anxiety will find himself more comfortable while wearing it, but as he still has his bet on place, maybe we can use daydream mode to modify what appears to the camera."_

He couldn't.

His hands were shaking, and he was unable to even lift them to cover hid face at least a bit. He didn't know if it was pride or stubbornness or whatever, he couldn't bring himself to lose the bet. He just couldn't.

He opened the cold water of the sink and merged his head under, trying to cool down his thoughts. He knew that if he kept thinking about it, he'd only get himself sad, and it'll stay with him the rest of the day. Yeah, maybe he was supposed to make Thomas sad, but that doesn't mean that he enjoyed getting himself overworked with something like this. The video was over. It's done. Thinking about it will only keep hurting him. Yet he couldn't help but feel betrayed.

**_"What if we make it a rule not to change anybody who doesn't want to be changed?"_ **

Easier said than done uh?

A knock in the door startled him, just noticing that the pain in his head was only getting worse because of the cold. He grabbed a towel and dried his hair a bit, before slightly opening the door, just to check who was outside (he really needed to buy a bulleye).

\- Anxiety? It's me Morality.

\- Get Out - He pushed the door, hoping to be quick enough to close it, but Patton didn't waste time in putting his foot on the opening, wincing at the pain.

\- Ow ow ow stop, stop!! It hurts - He tried to let himself in, at least to stop the pain. The dark trait didn't bulge, but stopped applying force on the wood. Angry? Yes, but hurting the father was still a bit too far for him.

\- Then get your foot out of the way.

\- No! I want to talk, please?~ I wanna apologize.

\- It's done. Just, forget about it, okay? - He was about to push the other's and finally close the door, but he was stopped.

\- I can't! Besides, the rest is waiting for you at the common room, they all want to talk - He noticed the fear in the youngest personality, so he quickly added - I'll be besides you, don't worry. We'll take things slow.

Anxiety doubted for a second, his hand still in the doorknob. - I don't need your help. - Even with that, he still opened the door, shoving Morality out of the way - But I'll go, you won't stop pestering me until I do so.

\- Yaaay!~

They both walked in silence, one of them acting as cheerful as ever, but sending glances time by time to his companion, worried but trying to show it. The other was hiding as much as possible under his hoodie, the zip up all the way, hands on his pockets and back bended slightly over himself.

They arrived at the place, the screen with Thomas's activity barely a background right now. In the middle of the room, the two remaining personalities were having a light conversation before the rest arrived, now a tense silence surrounding them. They sat on their places, the four seats arranged to be surrounding a small table in the middle, just this time to be more comfortable while discussing.

Prince's throne was more messed up than usual, being today the fourth day he had to sleep in the commons. Two big red cushions were there, and behind the royal's back he could clearly see Mrs. Fluffy Bottom sticking under one of them, badly hidden. Besides that, it looked as shiny and dramatic as his owner.

Logic's was a desktop chair, big and black. He sat there a few times when no one was there, it wasn't comfy enough to fall asleep, yet you were able to get comfortable if you sat properly. Not a single scratch or stain on it, it looked like it was just bought from the store.

Morality chair was a recliner, an old style in a beige colour, laying there was risking to take a long nap. It wasn't weird to see the heart trait sleeping there, or drinking coffee while watching Parks and Recreation in the TV Screen. He knew because of pure destiny (he didn't inspect the chair some weeks ago, not at all) that there was a secret compartment with candies and chocolates under one of the arms, but he didn't say anything as long ad he got all the chocolate that he wanted every time he needed it. It was a good way to fight his own Dementors.

And his chair, of course, was a black antique armchair, the chenille companion was his second favourite place from the whole house, besides his bedroom. He had a lot of stories of him just sitting there, scrolling through Tumblr, his curving arms being perfect to put his legs over, his softness over a solid structure making it perfect for small naps, and just the smell of old was relaxing for him. Antique stuff was  
the best. It was the proof that things could remain the same over time, and those little things that were able to accomplish it, were the things he liked holding on to.

But right now, not even his second home was enough to calm the nervousness that surrounded him. Even tho he was looking out, he could still feel their eyes like daggers, waiting for him to start the talk. As soon as he sat, he pulled out his cellphone and opened the first app that appeared in front of him, not really paying attention at but the feeling of having his hands busy helping to calm down a bit.

\- Anxiety, are you listening to us? -He spaced out so much, he didn't notice Loic had already started talking.

\- Now you know how it feels uh?

\- I told you he'd be angry, let's just leave it like this. - He winced at the harsh words, his eyes still fixed on the screen. He opened Piano Tiles 2 and started with a fast one, the music off, to keep his mind from wandering to dark thoughts. Not now, things just started.

\- Princey you're going to stay here as long as we have to. Anx - Not only he heard Morality's voice talking to him, but he felt a hand in his arm, making him look up slightly. He was looking at him with a small smile in his face, like encouraging him to talk, Logic and Prince chatting quietly in the background, the fanciful trait looking very uncomfortable - Can you hear us for a while, please? We want to apologize, for real.

He eyed the three again before deciding - Okay. But make it quick.

\- Thank you - He sat back on his place, his smile slightly bigger.

\- As we were saying - Logic adjusted his glasses, back to the dark trait - We wanted to discuss about both the encounter you had with Prince here some days ago, and about yesterday's video. I have to admit that things might have gotten...out of hand. So a proper apology is to be expected from us.

\- I'm sorry Anx - He felt Morality hugging him from behind, resting his head on his own - I should have taken you seriously when told us not to change you again, a-and I did it anyways and I thought it was funny but then you screamed and you got mad and stayed in your room and I got worried and Prince felt guilty b-but you didn't come out and I thought like we thought l-

\- Ssh, ssh calm down - He wasn't used to this much attention at all. Calming the emotional trait was a hard task, specially with the positions they were at the moment and the anxiety taking over his mind, but after some minutes he felt his arms relax, a few 'sorry's being whispered from time to time. He looked back at the other two, just noticing that Logic wasn't on his assigned seat, instead was circling the father's back, as awkward as him with the emotions subjects.

\- So... - Prince was the last one. He was rigid on place, avoiding his glance. - Anything else to say Princey?

Finally the royal trait payed him attention, frowning slightly.

\- Yeah...I might, have said some harsh things to you - He could almost see his words battling against his pride, was it really that hard to apologize?

\- Who cares? You actually want me gone too, so.

Silence filled the room again, the situation repeating again. Mo's hold tightened, Logic returned to his seat and Prince let his face show all his regret, but he didn't care. Even with all that, he was still angry. He had all the right to be, after all.

\- That's not true. Come on!! How can I be a hero without a proper villain? - He might have said that as a compliment, but it actually made him feel worse.

\- We already have this conversation Anxiety. You might overthink every problem a little bit too much, and still have the tendency to jump to conclusions at any chance, like right now. You are necessary to keep the balance in Thomas's mind, after all, a too positive mind can actually be too hard to ground.

\- Yeah!! Everyone has something good on them!! We're like a big family here, looking for each other. It wouldn't be the same without you, it's like a table without a leg!! It would just fall

\- Mo, there are tables with three legs, do you get that? - He couldn't help but smirk, seeing the shocked face of the older.

\- Oh my god really!!?

\- Yes but this is not the case - Everyone turned to look back at Prince, looking serious at Anxiety. - I truly am sorry. And Thomas does too, we all do. We know that idea came from the subconscious, so it's not actually on his mind, and he isn't even thinking of doing so! So....I'm sorry - A faint blush spread trough his face, looking away again. The dark trait felt a small smile trail through his face, but he hid it the best he could.

\- Thanks, Princey. It's nice to see your face match your stash.

\- Oh shush you.

They all stood up, the conversation over. There were still some things in the air, but he was too tired to bring them up, and he didn't want to ruin the calm mood that settled in the place. He looked at the Firsts, talking quietly besides him, when an idea crossed his mind. Walking to one of the shelves, he took the black box, still intact from last time they used it.

\- Hey Logic?

\- Uh?

\- Truth or Dare? - He smirked, showing the box between his left hand.

\- I don't understand. Wasn't the game over already?

\- Oh no, Princey there decided to keep with it a bit longer, and since I was the last one - He walked a bit closer - Truth or Dare?

\- So that's why you don't have your foundation on - The dark trait felt his face burn. He had almost forgot about it, and now he felt anxious again. Great. - I choose Dare - Perfect.

_"I dare you to take care of this box for 3 days. Whenever it goes, you have to have it near you, not less than 3 meters away."_

He looked at him stranged, but he didn't give him much time to think. He left the box in his hand, winked at Morality and left the room, a plan already forming in his head. It will work as some kind of friendly-revenge, and might solve the oldest trait problem. Three days was enough.

**After all, Thursday was only two days away.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH  
> AAAAAH  
> THIS TOOK SO LONG  
> I'm exam period, and my free time is close to cero, so haha. I don't think I'll be able to upload or write anything until the 20th of July, so this is going to be a long wait


	7. Everything is Messy in a PG rate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentines Day!!!!
> 
> So....it's been a while uh?  
> I was planning on updating this fic as soon as I got back, but school has been a mess. I finished last year of Secondary School, and between choosing a university, passing every exam, and some personal stuff, things have gone waaaaay downhill.
> 
> I wanted to publish it before I went on a trip with my family, with no internet, but I had 4 blackouts, and even during the trip and afterwards I had 4 more (It's not a lie, you can look up Argentina news if you want. Things got messy). But I wasn't going to give up that easily! So, between writting here and there, and hoping that I still had some readers left, I finished this chapter ♥
> 
> I will be posting the next one, which will be NSFW, as soon as I can. I will probably make a brief summary at the end of the chapter, in case someone doesn't want to read the whole thing. Also, the chapter keep growing, at this rate, I'll die (?)
> 
> Also remember: This chapter is placed between "Growing up" and "Accepting Anxiety". 
> 
> Warning: Anxiety Attack. It's brieff, it's between two "--", so you prepare yourself. Also a bit of nsfwis talk? implications

Two days went by in just a blink. Between spending time with friends, making sure Thomas followed all the rules of public behaviour, and the trying-to-be friendly fights with the creative facet, Anxiety had been too busy to notice the proximity of the deadline, the red alert on the back of his head telling him to beware from a new wave of nervous energy coming towards them, ready to fuck up any chance Thomas has of getting laid. It was fun to see the teacher carrying around the black box everywhere, usually he wasn’t one of playing along with this kind of stuff, but seeing him willing to obey the rules was the last factor to make his plan work. Under the curious glare of Morality, wednesday became thursday, and once on friday morning the realization finally kicked in.

_“Oh god Thomas is going to fuck today”_

“Anxiety watch your mouth while we’re eating!” Breakfast was as messy as usual, but you could see in their behaviour that today was taking a toll on them too.

If you weren’t looking carefully, everything looked normal. The food, the arrangement, the few papers here and there. It wasn’t the objects, but the people sitting that made it different. Logic was barely staying awake, his forehead resting between his hands, completely oblivious of the commotion in front of him. Princey was nowhere to be seen, probably still sleeping on his throne, and even Morality was disheveled, his clothes and hair messy, his cheeks pink and his eyes covered in a weird light. Twelve more hours till the actual date happened, yet things inside the brain had already started to change during the wait. He nor Princey will feel the actual effects of it till later, but for now the core of Thomas was suffering the worst of it.

It has been quite a while since last time. He still had very vivid memories of it, and he had learnt the protocol by hand. He eyed suspiciously at Morality, searching for any sign that it was already time to trap him in his room, but the father figure was still as clear as ever, which gave them more time. Maybe the plan he had was dangerous, maybe it wouldn’t work, maybe it’d go completely wrong, but he didn’t let the thoughts ponder inside his head for too long. He couldn’t back off now. With that on mind he quickly finished his breakfast and went back to his room, ready to prepare for the day.

He had to keep his mind as relaxed as possible during the day, and not carry any stress otherwise things won’t go well. He knew by first hand that when Thomas was in primal instinct moments, his body would act on his own regarding who he was, his anxiety spiking the adrenaline in a good or bad way, and in this case, it’d be the second option. In best scenario, Thomas has to be as clear-headed as possible, thinking rationally and carefully every step, controlling his nervousness and not letting himself be controlled by his own needs and desires. To be as close to that mindset as possible, they had to keep things under control, and so he has to start with his part.

He spent the next hours till lunch simply lying on the floor, listening to music, or reading and watching movies on his bed. Morality came to check every other hour, sometimes staying a little bit to chat or watch something with him for a little bit, covering the bare minimum on social interactions to cover every base on his nervousness. By the time they called him for breakfast, he felt calm and relaxed, even tho he could start feelings the first waves of eagerness inside him.

Lunch went by with no problem at first. Everyone ate their food quietly, the same feeling of anticipation filling the room so thickly, you could almost cut it with a knife. Logic looked more and more exhausted, being the first one to go back to his room, Morality zoning out from time to time, barely able to answer proper question, leaving Princey and him to be the only ones still able to proper thinking. Eyeing him briefly, thought, proved to him that he was not handling it well, his whole body language telling him something was wrong.

\- Princey, how are you handling your part? - Anxiety drank a cup of water after trying to eat half of his plate, wanting to have at least something in his stomach. The creative side didn’t even touch his - Is something the matter?

\- I’m doing fine, I swear - The wavering on his voice made everyone on the table question it, which made him even more nervous - I just...it’s been a while since last time. What if he doesn’t remember how to do it properly? What if we don’t get to reach the expectations? We might not get another chance ever again.

\- Woah woah, sorry but it’s my job to freak out over, and I’d like to keep it that way.

\- I know I just...Thomas keeps thinking about everything that might happen, and let me tell you he has pretty big ideas, but I just, they’re so many, it’s hard to keep control of them. - He stood up, picking up his plate and bringing it to the kitchen, throwing the rest food in the thrash. He quickly muttered something about staying in his room for the rest of the day before disappearing, silence settling between the aspects.

\- ….I need to go too - Morality was the next one to stand up, gathering everything on the table and bringing it to the sink, to wash tomorrow morning. - Three hours will pass in a flash, and I already feel like I’m losing it. Can you help me, Anxiety? - In front of him, a gold key was extended by the older side. He looked even worse than before, his hair all messy and his breath shallow. Even his words were coming all slurred, almost whispered, and deep down he knew that if he didn’t lock him in his room, the father figure will become dangerous for the rest of them.

Once he locked the room, it was just Logic and him left in the house. All the calm that he had been building for hours was fading away, his foot nervously tapping on the floor. Going back to the dining room, the last facet was sleeping peacefully on the sofa, half curled up over himself, drool coming out of his mouth. He eyed the box lying at his feet, his thoughts going back to what he just did, and wondering again if his plan was face. The least he could do was stay close, just to make sure things didn’t get out of control, and even tho it will probably risk the whole thing, he preferred it rather than messing both plans up.

But first, he had to test something.

He picked up the box, and started walking upstairs, towards the bedrooms. His steps broke the silence settled in the room, making him more and more anxious about it. _"I dare you to take care of this box for 3 days. Whenever it goes, you have to have it near you, not less than 3 meters away”_. Will he wake up, when he felt the box moving away from him? He knew the box had some sort of power, he just wasn’t sure exactly what. Will that be enough for his plan to work?

\--

He calculated 3 meters approximately, and felt his hope deflate as soon as he turned and saw Logic still sleeping, no sign of him waking up. His plan wasn’t going to work. Maybe he was wrong, maybe it was just a common box, maybe he made a big deal of a stupid game they played once, and was stupid enough to make up some weird plan to make his only friend get laid for a night with his crush. His fingers started trembling, his breath shallow, so he quickly sat down where he stood and started taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself as quickly as possible. It took him some time, letting painful waves of air fill his lungs slowly, but after twenty minutes he had managed to completely calm down, the only residue of the struggle being the tears and the headache. It was just a trial. He knew from the beginning it could have gone well or wrong, and now the only thing left to do was to make another plan, and try again. One step at a time. For now, he only had to put the box inside the teacher room, and then come back after him.

\--

Or that was the plan, if it wasn’t because as soon as he reached the top of the stairs, a sharp pain crossed his chest. He bent over, trying not to fall, as he stared at the box in his hands, glowing with a bright yellow light, before turning back to his original colour. He could hear Logic groan behind him, and as soon as he turned around, he saw him standing at the bottom of the stair, one hand resting on the wall, keeping him up, and the other in his head, a confused expression on his face. It turned even more confusing when he saw Anxiety’s smirk, shoving the box right under his nose.

\- Don’t forget about the deal, teach. Just two more days after all.

\- Unless you are planning of making me lose on purpose, Anxiety, it would prefer that box stayed under my control - That only made the other smile even more, putting the box between Logic’s hands and walking up stairs, the sound of a door closing signaling the end of the conversation.

He was laying again on the floor, his ceiling turned into a galaxy. If he didn’t consider the controlled attack on the stairs, most of his day has been spent in calmness, and now not only he had proof that the plan will work, but he also held the key to Morality’s room. He could hear him walking on his room, the perks of having them one besides the other, some furniture moving around. The faint sound of music was also heard from Princey’s room probably, and he could picture Logic already sleep and sound in his room, the increasing feeling of expectation too much for his brain at the moment. And he’ll need the energy later.

Most of them will need it.

They had to take care of Thomas after all, even in this kind of situation. He stood up and laid on his bed, trying to take a quick nap before the events. He didn’t put any alarm, he didn’t have to. He will wake up, experience taught him that. For now, he let his body relax and, in a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

**Only two hours were left.**


End file.
